Expansion shell assembly



April 25, 1967 F. P. DICKOW 5 3,315,557

EXPANSION SHELL ASSEMBLY Filed June 25, 1965 2 Sheets-Sheet l INVENTOR. FREDERICK P. DICKOW ATTORN EV April 25, 1967 F. P. DICKOW 3,315,557

EXPANSION SHELL ASSEMBLY Filed Juhe 25, 1965 v ZSheets-Sheej; 2

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INVENTOR. FR EDERICH P. DICKOW ATTOR N E Y United States Patent 3,315,557 EXPANSION SHELL ASSEMBLY Frederick P. Dickow, Auburn, N.Y., assignor to The Eastern Company, Naugatuck, Conn., a corporation of Connecticut Filed June 23, 1965, Ser. No. 466,372 3 Claims. (Cl. 8575) This invention relates to mine roof support bolts, and more particularly to the expansion shell and wedge assembly used therewith.

In mine roof expansion shell assemblies comprising a one piece shell having an annulus from which a plurality of integral gripping segments extend, which are expanded by a tapered plug or wedge drawn into the shell, no satisfactory provision has been devised for holding the plug in assembled relation to the shell apart from threading the shell and plug assembly on a bolt, after threading a thin shearable nut on the bolt or providing an equivalent shoulder means to abut the shell annulus. Assembling the thin nut on the threaded bolt end is a time consuming operation, in that the nut must be threaded a considerable distance from the bolt end, so that the shell and plug may also be placed on the bolt end. While the use of an extra thin nut is effective, when the shell and plug are also assembled on the bolt, there has been no practical provision for maintaining a plug and a shell of the type referred to assembled, without application of the assembly to the bolt end.

The present invention is directed to provision for maintaining a shell of the type referred to, and its expanding plug in assembled relation, apart from the bolt upon which the two parts will ultimately be applied. The invention further has to do with maintaining a shell and plug in assembled relation, so that wthen applied to the end of a bolt, the need for an extra nut, or other equivalent shoulder means applied to the bolt, is avoided. Further the invention is directed to an economical means for maintaining a shell and plug in assembled relation, which is also readily applied at low cost at the place of manufacture, so that shells and plugs, as an assembly, may be shipped in quantity, without bolts, to the place where use is required. Thus the plug and shell assembly will arrive at the destination without the parts becoming separated. Thus the necessity for assembly of the plug with the shell in the field is avoided even though neither of the parts become lost.

More particularly the invention is directed to a shell, for example of the four segment integral type wherein a strap is applied so as to connect two of the segment ends so as to confine the wedge or plug in place. The invention also is directed to the distortion of opposed malleable iron shell segments, to assemble the strap and wedge, following which the segments are restored to their undistorted shape while simultaneously completing the strap attachment to the segments.

The above and other novel features of the invention will appear more fully hereinafter from the following detailed description when taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings. It is expressly understood that the drawings are employed for purposes of illustration only and are not designed as a definition of the limits of the invention, reference being had for this purpose to the appended claims.

In the drawings, wherein like reference characters indicate like parts:

FIGURE 1 is a side elevational view of an expansion shell and wedge assembly;

FIGURE 2 is a top plan view of FIGURE 1;

FIGURE 3 is a sectional view taken on the line 33 of FIGURE 2;

FIGURE 4 is a transverse seetionalview taken on the line 4-4 of FIGURE 1;

3,315,557 Patented Apr. 25, 1967 "ice FIGURE 5 is a transverse sectional view taken on the line 5-5 of FIGURE 1;

FIGURE 6 is a fragmentary view of the upper end of one finger before application of the strap;

FIGURE 7 is a side view of the wedge or tapered plug of FIGURE 1;

FIGURE 8 is a top plan view of the wedge of FIG- URE 7; 7

FIGURE 9 is a bottom plan view of the wedge of FIG- URE 7;

FIGURE 10 is an elevational view with half in section as viewed from the broken section line, 10-10 of FIG- URE 11, the shell fingers having fiat wedging faces;

FIGURE 11 is a sectional view taken on the line 11 of FIGURE 10;

FIGURE 11a is a fragmentary sectional view taken on the line 11a-11a of FIGURE 10, with the hook end of the strap in place;

FIGURE 12 is an enlarged sectional view of a slotted finger of FIGURE 11;

FIGURE 13 is an elevational view of the wedge employed with the shell of FIGURE 10;

FIGURE 14 is a lower end view of the Wedge of FIG- URE l3; and

FIGURES l5, l6 and 17 are sectional views illustrating three successive stages in the assembly of the parts.

In FIGURES 1-9 there is shown an expansion shell and wedge wherein the two parts are maintained in assembled ready-to-use relation, by a light strap attached to the ends of two of the opposite fingers or segments of the shell, the strap extending over the large end of the expanding wedge. Referring to FIGURE 1, there is shown an expansion shell, preferably formed of malleable iron, having four shell segments or fingers 20, 22, 24 and 26 disposed in hollow cylindrical formation, and formed integral with an end annulus 28, the latter having an aperture 29 through which the threaded end of a bolt (not shown) is projected for threading into the threaded aperture 30 of the wedge 32. The internal surfaces 34 of the fingers for engagement with the generally conical surface 35 of the wedge, are shown as curved and somewhat complemental to the configuration of the wedge surfaces. The wedge may have opposed wings 47 adapted to ride in the slots 40 between the adjacent shell fingers.

Each finger is provided with a multiplicity of arcuate gripping teeth 36, and elementally disposed teeth 38. The slots 40 between the teeth may be slightly enlarged as at 42 at the lower ends in order to decrease the width of the lower ends of the fingers and the fingers may be reduced in thickness in the same area as at 43, in order to facilitate bending and temporary deformation in the area 43 during assembly of the parts as will be hereinafter referred to.

In order to provide means to hold the wedge 32 disposed within the upper end of the unspread fingers 20, 22, 24and 26, and in the approximate position shown in FIGURE 1, a sheet metal strap 50 is provided, such strap having a configuration adapted to fit along the outside opposite surfaces of the wedge, as indicated in FIGURE 3. The strap has side portions 52 and 54, and an end portion 56, with a V 58 projecting into the upper cavity 60 of the wedge 32, to prevent the wedge from shifting sidewise.

In order to anchor ends of the strap in the fingers ends 20 and 24, each finger 20 and 24 is provided with a slight circumferential offset extension 70, and a narrow circumferentially extending slot 72 is cast into the finger end, well to one side of center. On the inside face of the fingers is a groove 74 in which the strap portions 52 and 54 may nest, while the end portions 53 and 55 project through the respective slots 72 and are hooked over.

To assemble the parts, the fingers 20 and 24 are spread as is shown in FIGURE 15. By disposing a strap about hooking'over any bolt. 7 1 V j -While a singletform' of the invention has been illustrated and described as applied to two variations, it is tobe I a wedge as is also shown in FIGURE 15, and disposing the'wedge between opposite fingers 22 and 26, which are not spread, the proper axial wedge position with reference to, the shell may be established, so that the oppositely extending unhooked ends 53 and 55 of the shell strap as shown in FIGURE are aligned with the slot openings 72,in the spread fingers and 24. Thereafter, by appiying pressure by'rneans such as rollers90 and 92 to the assembly of FIGURE 15, as indicated in FIGURE 16,

'the spread fingers 20 and 24 areibent back to their normal position, and the strap ends 53 and 55 are caused to project through the slots 72. By further moving the rollers upwardly along the fingers 20 and 24, the strap ends are ,hoolred over as shown in FIGURE 17 into the complemental recesses 73 and 75 provided, and the shell, wedge and strap are assembled as a unit. The Wedge cannot escape from its confinement by the shell and strap. 'Since able material, the fingers 20 and 24 are readily spread and reset to their original; position by the operation described.

In FIGURES 10 to 12, the principle of the invention is shown as applied to a shell having four fingers 120, 122, 124 and 126 with flat wedge engaging surfaces; Each finger has rock engaging teeth 131 and 133. -In such case,

'1 the circumferential offset 130, of the fingers 120 and-124' is, formed as an angularrside extension of the finger, as

jis indicated at 132 of FIGURE 12, so that the window slot 1 the shell may be made of malleable iron or other deform 134 has an adequate frame therearound. The wedge 150, g

- for thetshell of FIGURES 10-12 is shown in FIGURES 13 and 14, the wedge having wings 152 to ride in the slots between the shell fingers 120 and 122, and 124 and 126, and relatively fiat wedging faces 154 for engaging the surfaces 128 of the fingers 120, 122,124 and 1 26. The wedge is threaded as at 156 andrecessed as at 158. In practice the assembly of astrap, wedge and shell, is effected by the same procedure as indicated in connection with FIGURES 115, 16 and, 17, that is 'by temporaryspreading of the opposed fingers 120 and 124 having the apertures 134, and thereafter resetting the fingers 120 and 124, while projecting the oppositely directed ends of the strap 162 through the apertures 134.v Thereafter the ends of the strap are hooked over to'nest the strap end 153 in the outside recess 138, and'the strap proper in the inside groove 136.

' It'willhe seen from the foregoing description,

that a a shell and 'wedgeare assembled and held in assembled relationby temporary deformation of opposite segments and the strap ends, and entirely independent of understood that the invention is not limited thereto. As various changes in the construction andarrangement may be made without departing from the spirit of the invention, as will be apparent to those skilled in the art, referw ence will be had to the appended claims for a definition of the limits of the invention. a

I claim: 1

, jecting short end portions over thelarge end of the wedge and along a portion, of the oppositesides thereof, spreading the ends of the apertured' fingers to receive the strap 1 ends, disposing the wedge in initial wedging relation with, the unspr'ead fingers, withthe strap end portion sraligned 1. An'expansion shell and wedgeassembly comprising a I 'shellhaving an annulus at 'one end, throughwhich the threaded end of an expansionbolt mayV -be projected, and 'a plurality of shell segments in the form of two opposite 1 pairs of expansion fingers arranged in hollow cylindrical formation and integral with said annulus, each of said fingers having an internalwedge engaging face, and exterior rock engaging gripping teeth and a reduced section 1 portion adjacent said annulus, an expansion wedge having V wedge surface means in partial engagement with the wedge engaging facesadjacent the free ends of said fingers and a threaded bolt aperture, the two fingers of one opposite pair each having a circumferfimially extending rectangular aperture adjacent the free ends, and a U-shaped strap disposed over the end and part way along the opposite sides of the wedge, said straps having side portions partially received within grooves of the inside face of the respective fingers, and having its ends projected outwardly through the apertures at'the end of said grooves and hooked back exteriorly of the apertured fingers and re-'v ceived within outside recesses.

2. An expansionshell andwedge assembly comprising a shell having an annulus at one end, integral through which I the threaded end of an expansion bolt may be projected," and a plurality of .shell segments in theform of two oppo site pairs of expansion fingers arranged in hollow cylindn I cal formation and integral with said annulus, the fingers of one of said pairs being identical and having a circumferential extended portion on'one side, at the end thereof, and a circumferentially extending rectangular aperture partly in the extension portion, each of said fingers having I an internal-wedge engaging 'face, and exterior rock engaging gripping teethand a reduced section portion adjacent said annulus, and adjacent fingers being separated by I lengthwise extending slots, terminating at the annulus, an 7 expansion wedge havingwedge surface means in partial engagement with the wedge engaging faces adjacent the; free ends of said fingersand a threaded bolt aperture and 1 having lengthwise extending ribs on opposite sidesthereof,

said ribs being disposed in the lengthwise slots between 1 I the other side of the said one of said pairs, and the adjacent fingers, of the other .pair, and a U-shaped strap dis-= posed over the end and part way along the opposite sides";

of the wedge, said straps having's ide portions partially received within groovesof the inside face of the respective} fingers, and having its ends projected outwardly through the respective apertures at the ends of said grooves and hooked back exteriorly of the apertured fingers and re 1 ceived within outside recesses.

3., The method of securrng'a wedge'in assembled rela- V tion with an expansion shell having segments in the fOIIII of four gripping fingers integrally attached to an end annulus, and in which the'ends of two opposite fingers are provided with strap receiving apertures, which comprises disposing a U'-shaped strap having oppositely radially prowith the apertures in the apertured fin'gers,-and thereafter resetting the spread ends to project the radial ends'through the finger apertures, and thereafter deformingthe strap; ends exteriorly of the apertured fingers to for-m a hookand secure the strap to the fingers and; thereby confine the Examiners, 

1. AN EXPANSION SHELL AND WEDGE ASSEMBLY COMPRISING A SHELL HAVING AN ANNULUS AT ONE END, THROUGH WHICH THE THREADED END OF AN EXPANSION BOLT MAY BE PROJECTED, AND A PLURALITY OF SHELL SEGMENTS IN THE FORM OF TWO OPPOSITE PAIRS OF EXPANSION FINGERS ARRANGED IN HOLLOW CYLINDRICAL FORMATION AND INTEGRAL WITH SAID ANNULUS, EACH OF SAID FINGERS HAVING AN INTERNAL WEDGE ENGAGING FACE, AND EXTERIOR ROCK ENGAGING GRIPPING TEETH AND A REDUCED SECTION PORTION ADJACENT SAID ANNULUS, AN EXPANSION WEDGE HAVING WEDGE SURFACE MEANS IN PARTIAL ENGAGEMENT WITH THE WEDGE ENGAGING FACES ADJACENT THE FREE ENDS OF SAID FINGERS AND A THREADED BOLT APERTURE, THE TWO FINGERS OF ONE OPPOSITE PAIR EACH HAVING A CIRCUMFERENTIALLY EXTENDING RECTANGULAR APERTURE ADJACENT THE FREE ENDS, AND A U-SHAPED STRAP DISPOSED OVER THE END AND PART WAY ALONG THE OPPOSITE SIDES OF THE WEDGE, SAID STRAPS HAVING SIDE PORTIONS PARTIALLY RECEIVED WITHIN GROOVES OF THE INSIDE FACE OF THE RESPECTIVE FINGERS, AND HAVING ITS ENDS PROJECTED OUTWARDLY THROUGH THE APERTURES AT THE END OF SAID GROOVES AND HOOKED BACK EXTERIORLY OF THE APERTURED FINGERS AND RECEIVED WITHIN OUTSIDE RECESSES. 